ORLANDO, Fla. — Someone new is joining the ranks of fitness enthusiasts who monitor the number of steps they take each day with Fitbits and other fitness tracking devices. Only Helen isn’t human: She’s a 30-year-old white rhino at Walt Disney World.
Helen went out onto the savanna at the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction at Animal Kingdom on Monday wearing a fitness device all-day.
The purpose is to gather data on the number of steps she takes each day. The device, about a foot in diameter, has an accelerometer and a GPS tracker and it’s fitted around her ankle.
The data it produces will be shared with more than two dozen other institutions participating in a large research project studying the best ways to care for rhinos at facilities, said Scott Terrell, a veterinarian who is director of Animal & Science Operations, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts.
“By doing this research and using this technology, we can really focus in on the physical fitness of the rhinos as a component of their health and well being,” Terrell said.
